JOE BIDEN won by promising less. Vocal factions in the Democratic Party and beyond saw Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat as evidence that Americans were hungry for something bold and transformative from the left. But the former vice-president made a more modest bet in 2020: that people mostly wanted Donald Trump’s presidency to be over and more competent response to the pandemic.
It paid off. And to the surprise of many voters and activists who had lowered their expectations, the president has shown flashes of bold vision in office, signing a big stimulus package praised by Bernie Sanders himself as “the single most significant piece of legislation for working-class people that has been passed since the 1960s.” The decline in poverty rates that his American Rescue Plan has helped accelerate—across racial groups but for Black people especially—may be temporary, but it indicates the profound impact his agenda can have at its best. Biden and his party are on the cusp of passing a $3.5 trillion omnibus package that would flush an unusually large amount of resources toward expanding access to health care and education and fighting climate change.
Yet this wave of legislation is still tethered to Biden’s original proposition: Pushing for less than what America’s crises demand is the price that has to be paid for victory and hence any chance at progress at all. So instead of universal health care, tinkering with the Affordable Care Act so more people have coverage. Instead of a Green New Deal, a commitment to reducing carbon emissions by half within a decade, which experts say is insufficient.
Denne historien er fra August 2 - 15, 2021-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra August 2 - 15, 2021-utgaven av New York magazine.
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A Wonk in Full- Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention.
Ezra Klein, glowed-up and post-coup, was almost a celebrity at the convention. Ezra Klein, who is known to keep his passions in check, did not have the right credentials to get into the arena. The Secret Service didn't recognize the New York Times' star "Opinion" writer and podcaster, but eventually he was able to figure out how to get in to where he belonged. This was, after all, as much his convention as any journalist's, since its high-energy optimism turned on the fact that President Joe Biden was no longer leading the ticket and, starting early this year, Klein had led the coup drumbeat.
The Afterlife of Donald Trump - The presidential hopeful contemplates his campaign, his formidable new opponent, and the miracle of his continued existence.
Donald Trump raised his right hand and grabbed hold of it. He bent it backward and forward. I asked if I could take a closer look. These days, the former president and current triple threat-convicted felon, Republican presidential nominee, and recent survivor of an assassination attempt-comes from a place of yes. He waved me over to where he sat on this August afternoon, in a low-to-the-ground chair upholstered in cream brocade fabric in the grand living room at Mar-a-Lago.
Danzy Senna Can't Stop Thinking in Black and White
Her latest novel holds diminishing returns.
Live, Laugh, Love
Dick jokes meet sentimentality in a wily Sandler-Safdie collab.
Tim Burton Is Great Again
A long-awaited sequel revels in gore and nostalgia.
In the Shack With Robert Caro
The Power Broker is turning 50. The final LBJ book is almostwell, he won't say exactly, but he's trying for 900 words a day.
24 Comedians You Should Know RIGHT NOW
THE COMEDY industry is undergoing a metamorphosis in 2024. Name-brand venues like the Second City and UCB are opening or reopening in New York, beloved local spots are being bought out by megacorporations, and streaming-service-helmed comedy festivals are usurping the old-fashioned ones. Post-WGA strike, TV-development execs are growing green-light-shy, Hulu is entering the stand-up fray, and YouTube specials are becoming just as worthy of watching as Netflix specials, if not more so.
Leading Lady
Anna Sawai could take home the Emmy for her performance in Shogun. But she's keeping her cool.
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Le Même Veau
The Frenchette crew has taken over the 87-year-old restaurant, and the snails are as garlicky and the duck as pink as ever.
DESIGN HUNTING: A LOFT WITH A HIGHER PURPOSE
Ali Richmond, co-founder of the nonprofit Fashion for All Foundation, has lived in this Brooklyn loft for almost 20 years with his archive of designer clothing.